New Moon Revolution
by Serra-Of-Many-Names
Summary: Crystal Tokyo is not what the Senshi expected. Mars, Jupiter and Pluto resolve to do something about it. But will they have to act alone? ReixJadeite in later chapters.


Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon (nor do I particularly wish I did--ordinarily, I'm not much for the shoujo genre...). No money is being made from this story. I'm just messing around.

--

The moon was new. Rei lived for these nights.

It was pitch black, and Rei was dressed to match, covered entirely in black jeans and a sweater. It was fairly warm outside, too warm for pants and long sleeves, but Rei had to avoid detection, and she was usually cold anyway. Every slip of pale skin that might set off the security cameras, save that of her face, was covered. _Setsuna has it so easy, _she mused, studying the woman beside her. _She's not white enough to replace the moon itself._

They were perched on the roof of the old hotel, the only building in the city old enough not to be bugged from roof to basement, but new enough not to be renovated. In Rei's understanding, the interior of the hotel was monitored; but that was easy to get around, if you knew to take the fire escape. It had been Setsuna's idea to meet here, and so far it seemed to have worked quite well. Endymion showed no suspicion of treason, unless he was being very discreet about ordering their deaths. Rei had worried about that when they had started this demented affair, but now she barely cared whether Endymion had her executed.

Makoto was the first to speak, drawing patterns in the black dust that covered everything these days. No one knew where it came from, and no one ever asked. "Any chance the Black Moon Clan is behind it?"

Rei shook her head, gazing off into the starry distance. "If the last time he got brainwashed is any indication, probably not. Usagi said there was a definite darkness about him when he was under Beryl's thrall, but she doesn't seem to notice anything amiss now. Unless whatever's changed him is affecting her too, but I don't sense anything evil around them either."

"Unless the enemy is smart enough to hide itself from you," Setsuna commented softly.

"True," Rei conceded after a moment of indignation. "But I still think we should consider the possibility that the power has just warped his mind. He's so focused on 'eliminating evil' that he's lost sight of good entirely."

Setsuna nodded. "Thus it is always with tyrants."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence, revealing the truth among the three of them: that none of them actually wanted to believe Endymion had lost his mind. Makoto idly traced planetary symbols in the dust; Rei noted with some unease how her finger trembled on the Earth sign, marring the perfect circle. Setsuna let out a soft sigh, hugging her knees to her chest, her mind somewhere far away, perhaps in another universe entirely. Rei stretched out across the roof, ignoring the dust, and watched the stars circle above her. Regardless of how strange and restrictive and outright wrong the world around her became, she could always count on the stars to be constant.

She lay like that for a long while, even drifting off a little, until Makoto nudged her with her boot. Rei grunted in annoyance, pushing herself up on her elbows. "What?"

"Do you hear that?" Makoto whispered harshly, shooting a panicked glance to the west side of the building.

Rei stilled herself, even stopping her breathing for a few seconds to hear better. A faint metallic clang reached the stillness of the roof. The sound of boots on iron. The fire escape.

"Yes," she replied, knowing full well what this would mean. It was well after midnight, when any normal person would be in bed. There was no reason for anyone to be out and about, much less on the fire escape of an old hotel. There were only two explanations: either they had run into someone as oddly-minded as they were, or they had finally been discovered. Rei suspected the latter, and she could tell by the faces of her comrades that she was not alone.

Makoto stood to face the fire escape, grabbing her henshin wand from her pocket, but Setsuna stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Wait," she whispered, her tone still smooth and calm despite the utter panic radiating off her. "He may not come up here if we keep quiet." Makoto nodded and lowered her hand, but kept the henshin wand clutched in her fingers. Rei knew it was a desperate ploy, but admired her poise anyhow. Setsuna was always the smartest Senshi.

The clanging grew louder, more distinct. Rei got to her feet, preparing to "go down swinging," as Makoto would say. At least if she were killed in battle she would probably die quickly, rather than being tortured into a confession or whatever else the Anti-Treason Squad had planned for her. She shot a glance at Setsuna. "Now?"

The Soldier of Time nodded to her. "Now."

Rei took a deep breath and raised her henshin wand over her head. "Mars Crystal--"

Then the man's head appeared over the roof, and Rei froze in place, the henshin wand falling from her hand. He had changed his blue uniform for black, and he may have grown his hair out a little, but there was no mistaking that face, that aura.

Lord Jadeite.

Makoto turned to her, still untransformed. "Rei? Rei, what's wrong?"

Ignoring her, Rei took a few steps toward the man, getting close enough to look directly into his eyes as he hoisted himself over the ledge. "You," she growled, her voice low.

Jadeite seemed unfazed. "Me."

"What are you doing here? How did you get reincarnated? Are you the ones behind all this?" The questions seemed to spill out of Rei's mouth like fire from a dragon.

"To the last one, no. To the first, I was told to find you. To the second, I'm still not sure myself. Shall we go on?" His tone was genial, almost jovial.

Rei turned to her comrades, eyes blazing with rage. "Makoto, toss me my henshin wand," she commanded, seeing no harm in using their civilian names now.

Makoto did so, stunned. Rei transformed hurriedly, the other two quickly following suit. Nothing but the best would do for this general. Rei folded her hands in the classic pistol shape. "Mars Fire--"

"Wait, wait!" Jadeite sounded almost pleading now, as though he had thought better of his glib greeting. "I have not come to fight with you."

"Then why were you told to find us?" Makoto demanded, evidently having recognized Jadeite by now.

Jadeite quickly got to his feet, self-consciously brushing dust off his uniform. "Beryl thought--"

"Has Queen Beryl brainwashed Endymion again?" Rei tightened her hands, preparing to strike again.

"She's not--"

"I'm going to make sure you all stay dead this time!" Rei shouted.

"Rei!" Setsuna slammed her staff against the concrete, forcing Rei and Jadeite to look at her. "Let him speak his piece. He is not here to fight with us."

Jadeite sighed in relief. "Thank you. Beryl--who is no longer the queen of anything and does not wish to be called as such--thought that you might be like us. We recognize the extent of King Endymion's tyranny and wish to do something about it. If we have misread your intentions, please feel free to kill me now." His voice was eerily devoid of sarcasm. Apparently he, like Rei, had accepted the possibility of being killed.

That didn't ease Rei's mind, however. "How do we know you're not just trying to kill us?" _Or working with Endymion_, she added silently.

The former general smiled sadly. "I'm afraid you'll just have to trust me on that one. Sailor Pluto does, see?"

Setsuna nodded, still holding her staff as though she might use it to hit Rei if she stepped out of line again. "His intentions are good, Rei, no matter what he may have done in the past. What he says is the truth."

Makoto took a shuddering breath, as though she were afraid of invoking Rei's ire. "Rei, listen to Setsuna. You know she's always right about things like this."

Rei lowered her head in defeat. She didn't trust the former general, not by a long shot, but she didn't want to go without the support of her comrades. "You said 'us.' Are all the Shitennou with you?"

Jadeite nodded. "We were all reawakened around the time of Endymion's coronation."

Rei met his eyes, subconsciously trying to convey her lingering doubt. "You do understand that if you turn out to be lying, I'll kill you."

"Well, there's not much I can legally do about that, is there?" he asked, the ghost of a smile crossing his face.

It was Setsuna who finally broke the silence that followed, walking to Rei's side. "Where are they?"

"Come," he whispered. "I will bring you there."


End file.
